


Hold Your Breath

by DearJennyAnyway



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 17:53:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11423103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DearJennyAnyway/pseuds/DearJennyAnyway
Summary: The aftermath of the breath holding challenge.Rhett's struggles with his thoughts while under the water.





	Hold Your Breath

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by GMM691.  
> Honestly I'm amazed there doesn't seem to be anything inspired by this episode already, as it certainly had quite an effect on me. If there is, please point me in the direction of it as I'd love to see it done a bit more skilfully than I've managed. 
> 
> I haven't really written anything since my school days (going back a fair bit here!), so I'm aware I'm not the best, but I've read so many great things here that I really hope I can learn and improve and eventually get up to even half of the skill level of all of you great writers and creators. 
> 
> I've been reading a lot of fics on here for a long time, but discovering this fandom was what made me create an account of my own and give this a try. 
> 
> Somewhow, all of the Rhink fics are amongst the most well written and memorable things I've read. You're clearly all just a ridiculously talented bunch, and I'm in awe.

"2:45! You broke my record!"

Rhett could just about make out what Link was saying from under the water, face down in that huge metal tub. 2:45. He was doing good. Getting pretty uncomfortable, but he knew he could manage for another minute at least.

"You bored?"

Did Link expect an answer? It was awfully hard to concentrate while he could hear the narration going on above him. Perhaps he should have asked for some ear plugs. It definitely would have been easier. Probably could have lasted even longer that way.

"Hope you're not doing any brain damage."

He had to really keep himself under control at that one. Only Link could say something like that and get away with it.

"3 minutes!"

3 minutes! Link sounded so excited that he had to hold back a smile. Always the same. Link had been cheering him on ever since they were kids and he knew he'd never stop.

"Come on man!"

He could do anything with Link's encouragement. Another 30 seconds for sure. He could just tell from the inflection in his voice that Link was proud of him, as always. He was always by his side and always his biggest cheerleader, from the monumentally life changing moments, to the downright ridiculous little games such as now.

"You alright?"

He sounded genuinely concerned. Typical Link. Going from hyped up little puppy mode to sensible and safety conscious grown man in less than a couple of seconds. Rhett was so lucky. He was so lucky to have this beautiful man for his best friend. Although that's one thing that he definitely didn't need to be focusing on right now. How beautiful Link is. That adorable smile and his tightly toned body, fuck, how his thighs looked in those skinny jeans he loved to wear so much.

"Wiggle your ear if you're still alive."

Oh god, he was definitely getting lost in his thoughts now. But, what? Wiggle his ear? He gave a little nod instead, just in case Link really was worried about him.

"Ok, he's still alive"

He really couldn't concentrate now. His mind had started wandering further, thinking of Link and what he looked like right now. Dripping wet, barely clothed. He couldn't deny he'd been having these thoughts of his friend for far too long now. He'd tried to convince himself it was a silly little crush. That it was a passing phase. That he'd be over it soon. If anything, his feelings just get stronger and stronger every day, every minute he spent in close proximity to Link, which, let's face it, was most of them.

"How you doing man? The whole internet's watching man, make us proud."

The whole internet is watching. The whole internet is _always_ watching. It's hard enough trying not to let Link know what's going through his mind the whole damn time without having to worry about the whole fucking internet as well. It's different when they're alone together. Easier. He can sneak looks at Link when he knows he won't notice. He can gaze at the wisps of black hair curling at the nape of his neck, just dying to kiss him there. He can let himself go weak at the knees just watching Link at his laptop, typing away frantically, chewing his bottom lip in concentration. But when they're filming it's a whole other story. He knows he can't let his eyes rest on Link's angelic face for anything longer than is deemed appropriate for two straight best friends. He knows the mythical beasts would be on to him like a shot if he can't keep himself under control. Pointing out the lovesick look in his eyes. He had started actively trying to avoid any slips ups that might give him away, that he was sure he was behaving oddly. That would be sure to arouse suspicion too. How was he supposed to act normal under these conditions?

"3:20"

Link's voice jolted him back into the here and now. He needed to clear his mind before he came up for air. Think about anything other than how fucking _naked_ Link was right now.

"You can make it 4 minutes"

Yeah, Rhett thought. He can make it to 4 minutes. It was getting harder and harder and the urge to breath was so strong it had almost erased the images flashing up in his brain of Link standing in front of him, dripping wet in that thin robe, pulling the belt undone and letting if fall open to reveal that beautiful body. Just a few more seconds, he needs that particular thought erased before he comes up for air.

"Don't just come up. I want to see you struggle"

Wait, what? What? Did Link just say that or was Rhett getting delirious from a lack of oxygen to his brain. Rhett could feel his dick getting hard just from those few words. Imagine him whispering them in his ear. Fuck. He needs to calm down but he needs to breath so badly.

"I want to see you- your body shake and shiver, I want to see you-"

Rhett suddenly burst out of the bath water. Gasping for breath. Was he doing this on purpose? Out of all of the things he could have said, he chose that? Those words? Jesus. He had goosebumps all over his body and it definitely wasn't from the cold water. He hoped to god that Link couldn't see how hard he was. He hoped the water was enough to conceal it while he got himself under control.

He didn't know how he made it through the rest of the filming for the episode. He laughed along with Link and made some stupid joke about thinking about french fries while he was underwater. He thought he was convincing enough. He practically flew out of the bath as soon as they were done. Not even bothering with his robe in his desperation to just get the hell away from what had just happened. He could hear Link calling after him but he couldn't even bare to turn around and look at him in case he gave himself away. He reached the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Leaning back against the door with his eyes closed, trying to calm himself down. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer and he felt he was going to have a coronary, for sure. He stayed in there for a few more minutes, until he felt like he had got himself together enough to face Link and the crew, and more than likely have to explain his strange behaviour, bolting off like that.

Link was alone in their office when Rhett walked in, having finally managed to get some clothes back on. He looked up from his laptop and peered at him over the top of his glasses.

“You ok there, brother?”

“Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Just needed a little time for recover from that.”

“From holding your breath…?”

“Yeah what else?”

Link said nothing. Just nodded slightly and looked back towards his screen.

Rhett sat down at his own desk and started to read a few emails, but it was after he'd read the opening paragraph to one of them 7 times that he gave up any hope of trying to concentrate on anything else this afternoon, so he made his excuses and left. He could feel Link’s eyes on him the whole way he walked across the room and it was incredibly unnerving. He couldn't get out of that office quickly enough, frankly.

 

 

 

  
It was about 10 o'clock that evening when Rhett felt his phone vibrate. He was sitting on his sofa with the TV on, though he wasn't really watching anything. It was a text from Link. Probably just asking if he wants picking up tomorrow morning, he thought.

_**Do you want to talk about it?** _

_**About what?** _

_**Don't make me say it, brother.** _

_**What are you talking about?** _

_**Don't do that, Bo. I didn't imagine this. I'm not going crazy, am I? You think I didn't notice what state you were in when you got out of that bath? You couldn't look me in the eye.** _

Rhett threw his phone down on the sofa next to him as if it was burning his hands. The fuck was he supposed to say to that? He felt all of the blood rush to his head, he could feel his heart pounding in his temples. What now? Deny it? Tell him he is going crazy. Can he just ignore that text and show up to work tomorrow as if everything is completely fine and normal?

He walked into the kitchen, poured himself a generous measure of the scotch he kept in the top cupboard. He wasn't really a drinker normally. That bottle had been a gift from one of the guests on the show and it had sat in the cupboard unopened for the best part of two years. He supposed he was saving it for a special occasion, but an emergency seemed as good a reason as any to crack it open. He grimaced as he took his first swig. Yeah, definitely not a seasoned whisky drinker. He took a few quick gulps until his glass was empty, enjoying the burn at the back of his throat. It served as a momentary distraction at least.

He could hear his phone buzzing against the leather sofa where he left it in the living room, but he ignored it and poured himself another.

Drink in hand, he returned to the couch and saw two missed calls from Link displayed on the screen. Fuck. He was really going to have to deal with this.

He downed his second scotch and almost slammed the glass down on the table. Jesus. What was he going to say? The second he picked his phone up it vibrated again. Link, of course. A text this time.

**_Please talk to me, answer you phone. Just reply, anything. I'm worried about you, bo._ **

He sat for what seemed like half an hour with his phone in his hand, trying to think of what to say. Why was this so difficult? He'd never been at a loss for words around Link before, but now suddenly he just couldn't think of a suitable reply.

In reality it must have only been around two minutes he sat there for, but Link was persistent and another message popped up under his last one.

**_Reply or I'm coming round._ **

No. He didn't want that. He couldn't handle seeing Link right now. Link seeing him right now, for that matter. Hands shaking, he typed the only reply he could.

**_I don't know what to say_**.

He waited for a little while but had nothing back. He must be just letting it go for now, Rhett supposed. Maybe by tomorrow he'll have figured something out. Or maybe Link will decide it's best just left well alone. He hoped so. Going back to normal, just two best buddies making an internet show. Yeah. He can do that. People get over crushes like this all the time. He certainly knows that he has done in the past. One day someone is all he can think about, the next he couldn't care less.

He needed to numb his brain a little more so he wandered back into the kitchen and poured himself another glass. Sitting at the counter, he sipped slowly. His mind was racing with thoughts of what's going to happen at work tomorrow morning.

Nothing, he decided. He'd just go into work as normal and say he just hadn't been feeling well yesterday. That's why he seemed weird before he left the office, why he left early, and why he wasn't replying to Link’s messages this evening. He could just say that he said he didn't know what to say because he really just didn't know what Link was talking about. That was believable, wasn't it? As long as he just managed to keep himself under control in future and act normal. He was so stupid, letting himself get so flustered today. Never again, he promised. It can't possibly be that difficult to just go back to how he felt before.

Of course he'd always loved Link, but it really was only platonic, despite what a lot of the mythical beasts had always said. He used to read those comments with Link and they'd laugh at how silly the idea of the two of them together was. Nowadays he avoided any conversation amongst Link and the crew about what was going down in the comments section. He thought for sure his face would give him away if he had to read another remark about how there's no way these two men aren't fucking. He'd give anything for those people to be right.

It was all he could think about sometimes. Yes he loved Link. In every sense of the word. He wanted to spend every minute with him and be allowed to look at his pretty face and gorgeous eyes and soft pink lips as much as he wanted to. He wanted to wake up next to him and put his arms around him and kiss him gently. He wanted to walk down the street holding his hand knowing that neither of them cared who saw them.

He wanted all of those things, yes. But he also wanted to pin Link down on the bed and fuck him until he couldn't speak. He wanted to grab hold of his hair and make him choke on his dick. He wanted to see what he looked like with a face full of Rhett’s cum. He wanted to see him on all fours, looking back and Rhett and pleading to be used. He wanted all of it, everything.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. Link? He said he'd come over if he didn't reply, and he had!  But of course it had to be him. There certainly wasn't anyone else who would be dropping by unannounced at, he checked his watch, 11:15pm.

Sure enough when he opened the door, his best friend was stood outside. Relief flashing across his features as Rhett gestured him inside.

Both men stayed silent as Link followed Rhett into the living room and sat next to him on the sofa. Link a little to close for comfort, given the circumstances. Rhett could feel the heat of his thigh against his and it definitely wasn't helping his whole ‘go back to thinking of him as your platonic best friend’ idea.

“Sorry for just coming round, brother. I meant what I said in that text, I'm worried about you.”

Link ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Rhett, but was was having trouble meeting his gaze as the other man seemed to be glancing frantically around the room, just looking at anything but Link.

“Well you really didn't have to you know. I told you I was fine.”

“No you didn't! You told me you didn't know what to say!”

“Oh! Oh… Yeah I did. Only because I didn't know what you were talking about, man.”

“Like hell you don't.” Link snapped, making Rhett flinch next to him. “Just tell me the truth, Jesus.”

Rhett was very interested in the carpet in front of his feet.

“Still don't know what to say, right? Maybe I should just go then.”

Link started to get up off the couch, until one of Rhett’s big hands gripped his thigh, almost holding him down.

“No don't go. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.”

Link relaxed back into the sofa and Rhett took his hand away, already mourning the loss of contact. Link’s thighs really were incredible.

Link turned his whole body towards Rhett before he spoke again.

“You have to tell me, Rhett. Please.”

“Yeah I know brother. I just don't know how.”

“The thing is, I think I know. But you have to give me something because if I'm wrong here I'm going to look like such a dick.”

Link put his hand on Rhett's cheek. He finally had the full attention of the other man, who was looking questioningly at him. He stroked his face with his thumb ever so slightly, enjoying the feel of his soft beard under his hand.

Moving a few inches closer, letting his eyes dart down to Rhett’s mouth as he spoke.

“Am I wrong, bo?”

 


End file.
